Calling all journalists on Twitter

I use it (@erikrolfsen) for three journalistic purposes primarily:
1. Making sure we’re not missing something significant.
2. Knowing what’s at the top of people’s minds at any given time.
3. Finding people affected by breaking news to feature in our coverage.

I started using Twitter last summer when I was working on a tech story. I’ve been up and down with it but what I use it for most is finding sources and staying current.

SuburbNews on twitter

Newbie but using it to find beat sources, tips and trends for story ideas

My news organization, a news Web site called Texas Watchdog, uses Twitter — we’re a small shop, and we have one collective Twitter ID as “texaswatchdog.” We have gotten a few tips and comments from the public via Twitter, and just generally conversed with some folks about open records, the media or topics in the news. We also tell people when we have new content, but we also send out some links to other folks’ cool content as well. I think it’s a helpful tool, and will be only more helpful as more people get on Twitter.
– Jennifer Peebles
Houston, TX
http://www.texaswatchdog.org
jennifer@texaswatchdog.org

Using Twitter this week to frequently update on a prominent cold case murder trial. Also using it to crowdsource and hopefully attract new readers to our crime coverage.

Tweeting under TnCrime.

Kate

Quite new but using it to keep up to date with my audience (nurses) also useful to track trends/responses to big stories.

I use Twitter (@EMRichards) to briefly scan news, connect with sources and ask for help with stories. I’m also always looking for good thinkers to follow (i.e. not the people who only tweet their daily routines), as what they say sometimes generates story ideas. It’s also a great way to “brand” yourself and your work.

reminds me. we had a high-profile murder last summer and I started twittering about it and picked up a bunch of followers who also were interested in following the murder case

I use Twitter daily to stay in contact with my network of followers. I try to give people snippets of my day and to talk about various aspects of my job and the columns I am working on. I also use it to share interesting information, blogs, articles and tidbits that I run across.
It’s been a great resource for me in finding sources and experts to interview for my column – two of which I used in this week’s column. I also like to read other people’s tweets to find potential story ideas and interesting research.

@alansmodic

I use it to develop relationships in the business, find sources, get tips on how to improve my work and many others.

Have had great conversations with many journalists. The best way to meet people and learn from some that you’d never encounter otherwise.

I like to talk about the industry on my personal account (@paulbalcerak).

I Tweet headlines and solicit information/converse with readers under the pnwlocalnews account (@pnwlocalnews).

I use twitter (@jmpalk) to post news updates, updates from meetings I’m attending, and to talk to people in the community. I haven’t had much luck yet finding sources through it, but I’m trying and hoping.

We use twitter to decide on what artists to cover, what products to feature and what trends are happening. Our twitter handle is sweptawaytv.

At Portland’s NBC affiliate, we’re experimenting with a new show called Live @ 7. The Twitterverse quickly turned into a a great source of story ideas and real-time feedback.

We’re @TheSquare.

@AlexParker

I use Twitter to hunt for story ideas, sources and knowledge about my community. It’s pretty simple, nothing major. But I know the folks in my community know things that I don’t, so I like to stay on top of what they’re saying, while also soliciting feedback on ideas.

Whoops, forgot handles. @victhompson (personal) or @nursingtimes

Thanks

I use Twitter primarily as a source of information about the changing world of journalism, though I have a small network of sources in my area for reporting purposes. I also find it useful for brainstorming articles.

@lydiabreakfast

As a freelance business journalist and general assignment features writer, I have a virtual newsroom in Twitter. Here, I’ve been able to connect with other writers and editors and find out what is relevant to them. I’ve participated in conversations I never would have had without the benefit of Twitter.

I hope, ultimately, it will be a point of entry to more assignments, but also to foster relationships with peers and mentors.

@lydiabreakfast

@joeybaker using twitter to share links about the media industry, converse about the media industry, and beer.

@copress — non-profit centered around creating a better technical ecosystem for college media.

My Twitter name is @timakimoff. I’m the online reporter for the Missoulian’s website. I use Twitter to find out what’s going on around town or over at the state legislature in Helena. I also follow local media outlets to see how our breaking news posts compare. Twitter is invaluable as a way to find out someone’s contact # quickly, and I like to post my favorite projects to Twitter to keep on-the-go Missoulians informed of what was in the newspaper or on the website that they might have missed.

Just getting into it, but so far trying to use it to build a network of local contacts who can provide immediate updates and tips if they happen to witness a newsworthy event/incident.

I use/manage a few accounts:

@greglinch
@copress
@miamihurricane
@hurricanesports
@TNTJ

@mitzilewis

I use twitter to keep up with people and the industry to provide current info to my students (primarily mass communication students with focus in journalism, digital media, PR & advertising, or broadcasting).

You can catch me @bridgetcarey. Aside from pushing out my content, I hunt for sources or answers for stories (especially getting answers for breaking news). I’ll poll followers on what interests them. Since I’m a business writer, often PR folks talk to me on there with story pitches.

And of course I use it to see what other journalists and media organizations are doing in social media.

I joined Twitter in April 2007. Since then, I’ve followed and been followed by 600-plus fellow tweeps (including an increasing number of businesses using it to advertise). While I was at The Oregonian, I lurked in the general twitstream and TwitScoop to get a sense of what news was trending. I microblogged to directly engage my audience and used the @ function for crowdsourcing stories and ideas. Occasionally, my followers and I would DM rather than e-mail.

Last June, we tried an interesting experiment with a print/online package about the immense popularity of Twitter in Portland. In addition to the online story being embedded with links to local users’ Twitter profiles, we embedded an entire live Twitter feed as a sidebar. People were invited to tweet back responses to the story; the tweets appeared on the page in real time. I also asked my followers to offer their own definitions of Twitter in 140 characters or less. I got more than 20 tweets in less than an hour, the first almost instantly.

I use my Twitter account (@jssilfies) as a way to stay up on media, journalism and technology trends. As far as reporting and brainstorming, that comes from my random Tweets and responses about environmental issues. Hoping to cultivate that process more often with more substantive Tweets.

I use it for finding information and staying up-to-date on breaking news. (@sassyrae)

At last count, there were nearly 50 staffers here at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, using Twitter. Some are more active than others; not all are fully newsroom staffers (our CEO, for example, is on the list); and everyone’s using it for different reasons.

But we’re embracing Twitter, for everything from cultivating sources to breaking news to expanding our audience. It works well for us.

Here’s a link to our Tweeps, if you’re interested:

http://gazettenewsroom.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/do-you-twitter/#more-15

Thansk.

@emilyingram

I use it to seek insight from fellow college and professional journalists, to get advice on how to encourage newsroom innovation and, of course, to share links.

I use Twitter to find out about events and what people are talking about in the Philly area – I write a column for my university’s newspaper on the goings-on in the city and also pitch a local mag and website about trends and new things I hear about. Find me at @twoshoes5887!

@andrew_dunn

I use Twitter to get story ideas, keep up on current events, share links, communicate with sources, interact with the community, pitch ideas, talk shop with other journos and distribute content.

I’m Family Life editor for The Post-Standard in (Syracuse) NY. I use twitter to:

1. connect with my blog and newspaper readers.
2. update them on stories.
3. find sources.
4. find the buzz on my beat (parenting)
5. find what other bloggers/journalist on my beat are writing about.
6. find guest bloggers for my blog.
7. drive traffic to my blog.

My twitter name is bloggingmom67

I also blog about journalism on my own time at http://savethemedia.com

I use @greenergrad for work (i run new media for a suburban news org) and personal tweeting.

I use it to find sources, find story ideas and share my work and other stories on my beat. @nickmartin

@lukemorris

I’m using it to listen to the industry’s most vocal members and cross my fingers the connections can help me find my first job.

And I mention what grinds my gears when I’m in the newsroom.

The Dallas City Hall Blog’s Twitter name is: dallaspolitics

I check it throughout the day to see if I’m missing anything big on the health beat. Seems Twitter is faster than many of the news web sites when something’s breaking. AmberSmith

I use Twitter for crowdsourcing, sharing stuff I find about the changing state of our profession and for personal use.
@dvdlee

I follow elected officials, local business leaders and volunteer/activist groups in the community for story ideas.

I also follow other journalists who share their expertise in using social media for journalism and sometimes give story ideas.

I also ask my 500 “followers” (dislik that term) to give me feedback on what they want to know about a particular news topic. The responses are swift and insightful- much better response then when I plead for questions during a newscast to viewers!

During breaking news I’ll send updates on teh situation if we’re not covering it on the air.

I think twitter is also a tool to endear yourself to viewers. Occassional quips about your life that make people see your non-TV side can be beneficial- in moderation.

Virtually our entire newsroom has gotten “in” to Twitter after being introduced by our editor last summer. I personally have used it to cull story ideas, find sources and resources and follow other Twitterers who post information relative to my beat.

Use it for reporting stories, seeing what people are thinking about/talking about/worried about — and for following the news.

@bydanielvictor

Twitter : community news :: Police scanner : crime news

I use my personal twitter account, @Briannepruitt, mostly to connect with other journalists, both locally and worldwide. I use the network to keep up on industry news, to ask for advice, and to stay connected. Our paper’s account, @Wenatcheeworld, is mostly just pushing out new content, with an occasional interaction — not for lack of trying. There just aren’t that many readers in our area on twitter yet. But we can hope!

I’m a relative newcomer to Twitter, having joined in December 2008. As a freelance business reporter, I’m using it to find and follow sources for assignments and to track trends. I also use it to connect with fellow journalists and to let people know about my blog for writers, WordCount – Freelancing in the Digital Age.

Michelle Rafter

If you are interested in Baltimore, my blog lists Baltimore Media on Twitter here – http://tinyurl.com/82ewc4 – or you can do a search for the “2009 Guide to Baltimore Media on Twitter”

I’ve encouraged our entire newsroom to start using Twitter to connect to sources, find sources and send news updates to our readers. I also take questions from readers or story suggestions through twitter. Once in a while someone in our area on Twitter will say they see several cop cars circling their neighborhood and they want to know what’s going on. Those kinds of tips are helpful, and we’ve found several story ideas through Twitter. Whenever breaking news happens we Twitter it. Our newspaper has a Twitter account @StarNewsOnline, but that’s mainly our RSS feeds. I and other reporters/editors operate @CaptainStarNews. And I’m at @Shanbow

Hello. I’m @leangreenmom on Twitter and I use Twitter in lots of different ways when writing stories for magazines and for my own blog. I’d love to be added to your list. My latest blog posting is here: http://tinyurl.com/c95lf6

Leah

I’m at @graphfeatures. I’m the lifestyles/food editor at The Telegraph in Nashua, N.H.

I’ve used it the past few months to promote current and upcoming print content and blogs. I’ve also used it when I have story ideas and I’m looking for sources. It’s also a way for local readers to more easily get in touch with me about their story ideas. And sometimes I just like to sit back and see what local people are talking about to each other! I have a lot of responsive, nice “followers.”

You can follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/Kenwardjr. I cover the coal industry and the environment for The Charleston Gazette in West Virginia.

@gharman is my twit handle. i and others at san antonio’s alt weekly twitter daily.

we certainly blast our latest posts for readers, but also try to keep the community aware of what we are working on, ask our follows questions about their interests, and share our own insights on news of the day.

i focus a lot on sustainability matters, including energy, environment, and social justice.

Our newspaper @VancouverSun has a number of reporters and editors on Twitter and as well some sections have a Twitter profile. I’m the Vancouver Sun’s digital life writer and I am on Twitter @gillianshaw. Like all things digital for me, it’s not something I use just when working but a way of connecting with people 24/7 both in my neighborhood and around the globe. I learn a lot, meet really interesting people and enjoy taking part in the Twitter conversation. I update our newsroom Twitter list at http://tinyurl.com/74x2gj

I’m a former reporter, columnist, blogger and now the new “Communities Editor” at the Globe and Mail, a daily national newspaper in Toronto and I use Twitter both to find out what stories people are talking about and also to try and let people know the things we are working on. Handle is @mathewi.

@Brizzyc

I am a journalism professor at the University of Memphis. I tell my students that Twitter can be used for a)reporting b)surveillance e.g. finding out what is going on in your community/beat c)promoting your own work (can be overdone) d)developing sources e)building community (maybe most important one) and f)networking/learning what is going on in journalism.

Personally, I also think Twitter is used most effectively as a professional tool BUT with some personal component. It’s a social medium and credibility is gained by being willing to share some aspect of yourself.

I’ve used it to find information, ideas and sources. I write about freelancing, work/life balance and careers for Seattle Times, ABC News and others. @anti9to5guide

I’m at http://twitter.com/cguillot

I’m @SaraAase, and I use Twitter to ask questions and post interesting stuff. I plan to use it for brainstorming and finding sources for stories.

As a freelance writer I specialize in money, health, and family topics for magazines. I also blog about personal finance at Cash on the Barrelhead.

Because of Twitter and blogging, I’m increasingly interested in writing about social networking and technology. I’m following tons of interesting people on Twitter and look forward to meeting more.

[...] site BeatBlogging.org is collecting names of journalists who use Twitter to “help report, find sources, ask questions and [...]

I use Twitter to connect with others passionate about journalism, to share links, to retweet others’ thoughts, and to do some good ol’-fashioned networking.

I’m at @suzanneyada.

Cmon, guys, there are already two quite comprehensive lists in existence – links to them in my comment on this blog post.

Why not encourage folks to add themselves to the already-existing wiki rather than compile your own list?

http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors/2009/01/30/beatbloggingorg-puts-out-a-call-for-all-journalists-on-twitter/#comment-9670

I’m @travelinggal and use twitter to find story ideas and sources. Ever since I’ve been part of twitter, I become very interested in social media.

@Ruth,

We’re not just looking for journalists on Twitter (ala other lists), but specifically, we’re looking for people using Twitter for journalism. We’re looking for people practicing beat blogging.

We are not interested in accounts for newspapers (even the good @ColonelTribune) or non-journalism employees. We’re also not interested in journalists on Twitter who do not use Twitter to help report.

It’s an important dictinction about our list.

I’m @stevenjambot.
Student in journalism in France.
Secretary-general of IASTAR, the French federation of student radios.

I am a freelance writer, journalism professor, blogger, and I run an educational site for designers at small newspapers. I use Twitter to quickly share ideas with my followers and keep up with what’s going on in the world of journalism. Great for story/blog ideas. I don’t have many followers (yet), so it’s mostly the latter. It’s been good for that. @newsdesign

@sandrafriend
I use Twitter to break (and echo blog posts) on the latest news regards hiking in Florida, including conservation and recreation issues statewide, which I often receive from inside sources before they break in traditional media.

As a freelance writer, I also find it an extremely useful tool for picking up trends early and sharing breaking news, such as live reports from a fire in a historic downtown here in Florida.

im @unthinkingly and am part of a team trying to develop a tool for high-speed crisis journalism. Our goal is to facilitate the response effort by aggregating and filtering twitter (among other microblogging platforms).

I use mine to update blogs, quick blogging and some sources and following competition @ctrent

I use twitter (@shayonpal) to stay on top of the buzz, take polls, create stories and also to maintain relationships with others that help me getting scoops.

I use Twitter to find interesting/controversial news and as a way to drum up a few hits for the online magazine I edit for. I try to post interesting international news story links as often as possible.

@Balaz2ta

I’m Assistant Managing Editor of the Seattlepi.com. Here’s my post on why I use and recommend Twitter: http://printtoonline.blogspot.com/2009/01/question-why-bother-with-twitter.html

@brainmaker — I write for the Examiner.com, and on my two other blogs, Great Adaptations and Social Media Mappers. I use Twitter to get up-to-the-minute notes from several key players in the social media world, to expand my understanding of “The Conversation” so I can report back to my clients, to further my own angle on new media, and to share by retweet any valuable links that come up. Twitter has become absolutely invaluable to the current evolution of online communication.
Thank you for creating this way to shine a light on journalism on Twitter!

I’m a food writer and use Twitter to see what’s going on in the culinary world. I sometimes ask for menu / cooking advice or opinions about utensils or appliances.

My Twitter name is @charmian_c

I’m community editor at BusinessWeek.com – we keep an updated list of our journalists and editors on Twitter at http://is.gd/bnNs while BusinessWeek.com editor-in-chief John A. Byrne’s outlines our approach to Twitter at: http://is.gd/i6zA

…that’s BW.com editor-in-chief John A. Byrne’s blog outlines our approach to Twitter. Many of BW’s business and tech folks are now on Twitter, while on the edit side of BW, writers such as @stevebaker and @heatherlgreen deserve a tip of the cap for incorporating Twitter early on into their reporting.

I’m a political reporter at The Edmonton Journal in Canada; I use Twitter (@taudette) to monitor how politicians are interacting with their constituents through social media.

I am TVAMY a local news anchor using Twitter and other social media for a year now. We get feedback, story tips, I communicate with sources and follow local lawmakers updates. The viewer comments are featured in two nightly interactive segments I put together for our newscasts at 7 pm and 10pm. Many of the movers and shakers in our region are on Twitter, or thinking about getting on.

Should have added that when I’m at work, I send out breaking news info as well- which my followers seem to really appreciate.

I’m a columnist for MSNBC.com and blogger at CareerDiva.net, and YourBiz.MSNBC.MSN.com.

My colleagues and I use @NiemanLab to connect with others on our beat, which is the future of journalism (so how could we not be on Twitter?)

@philanthropy

I’m the Web editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and I use Twitter to point our readers to new content, to find out what they are discussing online, to find sources, develop story ideas, and answer queries they make about our publication.

We’ve had tremendous success driving traffic to our site through Twitter and finding new readers who might not have known about what we were offering online.

Some of our Twitter conversations have spawned stories in our paper and posts to our blogs.

We (De Tijd, Belgian business site & newspaper) use Twitter to find new story ideas, to monitor breaking news, to alert our community on stories on other sites and blogs as well as on our own blogs, to cover conferences and other events (even though we use coveritlive for liveblogging).

You can find me on twitter as RolandLegrand

Twitter id is @jeffcutler

20-year journalism vet. NPR, Gatehouse Media, Boston Globe, etc.

Fulltime freelance since 1988.

Specialties include tech (CES, gadgets, evals/reviews) and outdoor recreation (mountain biking, triathlon, organized sports).

I use Twitter to find leads and to connect with companies. Also to arrange meetups and interviews and find out about events in the tech community.

I’m curious about the many journalists using Twitter to find sources for stories and columns. Is doing this narrowing your source field to just techies or computer-users and what impact does that have on the coverage? Thanks for all thoughts on this.

* find new sources
* keep in touch with sources, readers
* ask my audience questions
* solicit sources for specific stories
* get story ideas
* identify trends in my coverage area
* keep up with news in my beat and journalism
* point my readers to good stuff online
* promote fellow journalists (yes, even my competitors)
* cover conferences, live events
* a little self-promotion (About 10% of my posts link to our own stuff)

@gienna

@pjhanley
Use Twitter for:
- story ideas
- audience feedback
- following sources
- keeping up with my beat
- staying informed about online journalism
- publicize my own show and blog content
- liveblog events I personally attend which are generally uncovered by mainstream media.

My twitter name is 2mrw

I used twitter to share ideas with my social network, for covering live events, and for commenting on fresh topics in new media and DC.

I’m @polanimal on Twitter where I tweet political news, do cattle calls for sources, keep up with news, talk to similarly interested folks and send twitterfeeds of our blog http://blogs.twincities.com/politics.

But you should really talk to @jojeda about twitter and journalism. He is the Pioneer Press’ tech columnist and is a twitter-fiend. He even wrote THE book on Twitter — http://yourtech.typepad.com/twitinbiz/ — and is to blame with my tweeting. He did some really interesting twitter related journalism during the Republican National Convention and has a chapter on that in his book.

I am a newbie…hoping to build a community around my courts and crime beat, as well as follow in the footsteps of others who are blogging live from trials.

My twitter name is annmcglynn

Twitter is the modern day police scanner/ wire machine/letters to the editor all in one and sitting in the middle of our old newsrooms. We journalists can keep up on breaking news, local trends and the general mood of our city’s residents. We are chained to our computers frequently… Twitter allows us to break out of those silos daily and meet so many more of our readers and local citizens. It also helps to cultivate even the most unlikely of sources.

I use it personally @writeontime, and our paper @SABizJournal has a main Twitter page to Tweet headlines and breaking news.

RBLevin on Twitter

I am a freelance writer. I use Twitter to keep track of headlines and to develop new sources.

I’m a reporter for the Swedish Television in Stockholm. I find social media very exciting and I use Twitter daily in my hunt for news stories, source material and to keep up with what is happening with our changing media landscape.

@mjomark

Editor at Neo Magazine (Six issues per year, on politics). I use twitter to keep track of upcoming trends, ask people for help and spread the word on stuff I am doing myself.

I’m an Associate Editor at Gizmag. I’m new to Twitter but so far I’ve used it to connect with my peers and discuss the news, watch emerging trends, and monitor the buzz about Gizmag.

I am the main person behind @statesman. I decided to forgo the usual RSS-fed Twitter news account in favor of a personal touch. It’s working. We have a huge Twitter presence overall. See all our work at http://statesman.com/twitter

I use Twitter to monitor my beat, track trends around Raleigh, N.C., discuss what’s going on in the city, solicit questions from the community and gather sources for stories.

I’m also one of four people who maintain four different accounts for News 14 Carolina, a statewide local news station in North Carolina (@news14charlotte, @news14triad, @news14raleigh, @news14coastal). We poll viewers, invite critique, distribute content and engage the community.

I use Twitter to hunt trends, share links to innovations that excite me, connect with writers, and communicate with Trend Hunters and artists/firms/individuals we’ve featured at TrendHunter.com.

Budding, not-even-qualified journo, use it for keeping up with Twitterers I like, chatty celebrities, headlines, trends and contacts.

I just started using twitter. I’m having some trouble figuring out how to update it enough for it to be interesting, but I enjoy following others and have definitely already spotted some organizations and news sources I wouldn’t otherwise have known about.

I (@jess4320) use twitter to keep up with what’s going on, to see what innovations others are coming up with and to promote my work.

[...] sine beveggrunner for å bruke Twitter, se spesielt Martin Stabe. Her kan du også lese om hvorfor mange journalister (drøyt hundre i skrivende stund) risikerer det de lille besitter av selvfølelse… (Eller sjekk denne presentasjonen om hvordan Twitter forandret Minxuan Lees [...]

Hi, I’m Patrick LaForge, @palafo on Twitter, and editor of the City Room blog at The New York Times. We use Twitter to draw attention to interesting links, reply to readers, solicit story ideas and sources, and generally connect. Two City Room reporters, @Sewell_Chan and @Jenny8Lee, are on Twitter, and we have a feed, @cityroom, that sometimes includes additional comments directed at followers.

@kitson — I use Twitter as much as possible (some might say too much, or at least too often) — we use it for:
pushing (sending out links to finished stories),
pulling (crawling for trends, leads, breaking stories, and sources),
sharing (live-twittering from events and 1-on-1/Q&As with executives),
ingesting (soaking up flavor and nuance from the community),
networking (connecting with people we write about, with people we write for, and connecting both sides with each other); and
lingering (making names for ourselves in the beats and areas of interest we cover).
In other words — it’s become a main focus for us.
(We also use it for marketing events and webinars.)

I use twitter to follow the media industry and thoughts, trends in general. I don’t work for one company right now but I have a crowdfunded project I’m doing and tweets have been helpful in evangelizing for it.

I use it (@nicolecwong) to keep a pulse on the buzz about the the subjects I cover, find people to interview, solicit questions from a broad audience for big-wigs whom I’m going to interview, and get immediate feedback on what I’m reporting.

We’re just starting to use twitter at my daily in the DC suburbs of Virginia. Right now we’re mostly using it to connect to readers, get them involved in the newsgathering process. Here are our twitter names:
@insidenova
@editorkari
@uriahkiser

Courtney’s Story
Born 10-22-77.…………Died 01-13-09
Courtney Leigh Hewitt is my daughter and she was 31 years old when she was taken from us prematurely, leaving behind, not only me, but her mother Susan , her loving sister Heather and her four beautiful children, Chloe’ age 11, Kylie age 10, Claudia age 8 and Alexander, 7, who absolutely adored their mother.
Now, comes the grieving, the mourning and yes, somehow the mending of all the broken hearts of everyone who knew and loved her..

It was not her choice or wish to leave this earth at such an early age. Although, Courtney was diagnosed with HIV in 2001 she was compliant with her medicines and doctor’s appointments or at least we thought she was until October, 2008, when she began to shows signs and symptoms of some one who had suffered a stroke. This being the case, we went to a local hospital where an MRI and a CT Scan were performed.

A day or two after, we contacted her HIV doctors to inform them of her change in health and scheduled an appointment, took the Tests to them for perusal. We were informed then that she had not been compliant with her HIV meds or scheduled appointments and due to the HIPPA Privacy Act Law, we could not be notified. Although her last appointment was in the Spring of 2006, Her doctor , Dr. De Jesus assured Courtney and I at that time, her symptoms were apparently Neurological and not HIV related and suggested we consult with a Neurologist.

So, our quest which led us down this tragic journey began……after what seemed like an eternity , we were able to find and establish and put our faith, so we thought in a doctor, who assured us and convinced us our precious baby girl Courtney had indeed suffered not one, but two strokes, the second more severe than the first.
He, the Neurologist, having Courtney’s medical history and aware of her HIV status, assured both Courtney and I that it was indeed strokes she had suffered and her condition was not related to HIV.
This diagnosis was made by the Neurologist at the first examination at which that time he performed some in office test to confirm to us his diagnosis of the stokes. Why would we question him, the professional? We had no reason not to do anything less than put our faith and trust in him as her caregiver. Especially after her HIV doctors assured us it was not HIV related ,but Neurological. He even wrote her a prescription for numbness of her left foot, which we had filled at our local pharmacy and started taking immediately and was scheduled a follow-up the next week and asked to bring the film from the original MRI and CT Scan we had done several weeks prior to our second appointment with him.

The next week (the date of the second appointment) as we are about to walk out the door of our home, the phone rings and his office manager states, we can not see Courtney Hewitt, without a referral from Medicaid. Keep in mind he had already accepted and examined and diagnosed and written her a prescription the previous week and was treating her as a stroke patient.

After another week goes by, we do as he says, schedule an appointment, carry with us what he had requested (MRI and CT scan) and the referral. He greets us, examines Courtney again, performs some more in office test and then again re-assures both Courtney and I, she suffered not one but two major strokes after viewing the MRI and CT Scan reports. He writes a prescription for more test to be performed, so we took them to the Hospital for scheduling and was told there that unless we took the prescription back to the him or called him and ask him to fax over the prescription to the Hospital with the word STAT written on it, it would be 15 more days before they could schedule her test.

I phoned his office immediately, informed him of what the Hospital was asking of him, so we could get the test (he had requested) done ASAP, he became angry and ugly and shouting to me that he had never heard of such a thing. I politely handed my cell phone to the lady at the scheduling desk and she handed it back to me, stating he was rude and ugly and wouldn’t cooperate and hung up the phone on her.

I immediately called him back and calmly asked him, to please, please fax the prescription to the Hospital with what they had asked (a simple four letter word STAT) so that we could have the tests he had requested done so we could get the proper care for Courtney. “His exact words were, I am going to fax this prescription for your daughter, but do not bring her back to me, because I refuse to see her again as a patient.
Well, here it is February 10th, 2009 and needless to say he never faxed the prescription!!!!
Later that afternoon, I took Courtney to Florida Hospital South in Orlando.

There, a few days later, another Neurologist performed another MRI and CT scan, much to our Shock and Amazement, the Neurologist assured us, there was never a Stroke and she was diagnosed with PML (HIV related) not quite understanding why her HIV doctors didn’t realize this.
PML , we certainly never heard of this awful HIV related disease until now…………..down below, I ask of you, if you can, please read carefully as we have and try as difficult as it may seem to you, put yourself in our shoes, as parents and if Courtney were your child……How could this happen?
Keep in mind, when her HIV doctors realized it was PML and the HAART meds referred to in the data below were necessary if there was any chance for Courtney, not to beat the disease, because we know there is no cure, however, with the meds, had they been administered in a timely manner (at the on-set) and not at the middle or ending stages of the disease, the chance we had, that Courtney had and Chloe’, Kylie, Claudia
and Alexander! We know God only has the answer, but we want to know why, the misdiagnoses were made
And How her HIV doctors could not have caught this in a more timely manner, so that none of this would have had to happen , at least so prematurely.

It was horrifying at the end….she was unable to communicate, not even by writing, to finally her sight being robbed from her, never to see the faces of Chloe’, Kylie, Claudia and Alex’s again! The odds were 50/50 that it would have slowed down the process and I as her father, Chloe, Kylie, Claudia and Alex would have had Christmas and New Years with Courtney for possibly two more very special and cherished years and not suffered through the agonizing past four months. We all know that long term we would have had to give her to God one day and the odds as they were 50/50 were drastically decreased and taken from us, due to mis-diagnosis and lack of knowledge of the physicians involved. I say to you Florida Hospital, how can a facility of your size and stature, allow a patient in dyer need of a feeding tube, to lie there in your bed for almost three days before doing so, only after I have to call your switchboard operator and demand to speak with an administrative official in order to get any satisfaction? To you, the Neurologist for your mis-diagnosis and negligence and you the Primary Care Physician for refusing to write the order for the peg tube (feeding tube) for our precious Courtney, “ Yes, she was an HIV patient, and yes people live for 20 years or more with the virus.”

What is really sad about all of this, is the fact that the HIPPA Privacy Act, if tweaked just a little, this could all been avoided and we would still have our daughter and loving mother of four small children still here on this earth with us!

Reginald T. Hewitt
Orlando, Florida 32835
407-295-7538
321 388 1952
Com4tsweets@aol.com

The above is a post…true story of what our family just went through……Have been approached by several entities (media,entertainment,etc.,) for a story…….anyone here have any points of interest or views they care to express?

@journalistnate

I’m an online content developer at The Sacramento Bee. I use Twitter to monitor the other local media outlets and keep up with other tech-savvy journalists. I’m trying learn all I can so I can help other writers who would like to use Twitter for crowd-sourcing.

I am an art journalist looking for other journalists to tweet with. I like reading other peoples work, and having mine read when available. I think its important to stay current especially when writing within a specific genre of journalism.

Teach New Media Tools for Journalism at Boston University.

http://twitter.com/stevegarfield

Twitter, Twitter integration with Qik, Utterli, Flickr.
Twitter Search.

Hey. I’m just jumping on the twitter train. I’m a freelancer for several national publications and want to try twitter for reaching PR people, sources, experts, regular people, etc…

Mary Jo DiLonardo
@mjdilo

I write for Parents, Family Fun, Ladies Home Journal, Atlanta mag, Arthritis Today, and more…

Thanks.

This is why I use twitter.

http://www.daytimediva77.com

Please help me raise awareness of PML/JC Virus…..a disease that claimed the life of my daughter Courtney at the age of 31…… help us tell and share her story of how she battled this virus which lies dormant in 85 to 90% of our World’s Population?